Hidden Talent
by TheWriterFormerlyKnownAsNixon
Summary: Oneshot. Cody's been refusing to go to challenges ever since Gwen rejected him. But when she is sent to get him, she finds a completely different boy... And quickly realizes something. G/C.


This originally started off as a song drabble, but I decided to stretch it out and change it up. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story, get it?

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I sat on my bed in the empty cabin, ignoring the calls for my name from the loudspeaker.

I just didn't care anymore.

I continued to move my hand across the paper, putting the final shades and touches on the drawing I had made. I sighed, stared at the picture I had made for a moment, and then crumpled it up into a ball and threw it to the ground in frustration. I dropped my colored pencils on the wooden floor, causing them to clatter.

I lied back on my bed, my hands on my head.

Ever since that trip to Boney Island, things just didn't seem to matter me anymore; I hadn't even bothered to get out of the cabin today; I could feel my brown hair sticking up. My pajamas were still on, feeling warm and fuzzy against me.

Of course, that was the complete opposite of what I was feeling on the inside.

"Why am I such a loser...?" I asked myself, sighing loudly. I heard Chris call my name again.

"Cody, if you don't get your butt here now, we're gonna send someone,"

Good, let them.

I had been late for challenges since that day the most beautiful, coolest, and all around greatest girl I would probably ever meet rejected me. And quite harshly, I must say...

But... But she liked Trent... Not me... And I need to respect that...

Right...?

I felt water slide down my cheeks; silent tears quickly moved off my face, leaving a crusty line across me.

This depression I had gone into was the worst thing I had ever felt. But I only had myself to blame...

I love Gwen. No, seriously, I LOVE Gwen. Love her with every damn chromosome in my heart.

But the way I acted around her made her think otherwise...

Why was I such a failure at life...? Why couldn't I just be normal around girls, or people in general for that matter?

...Why did I even exist...?

They would be sending someone soon, and they would drag me to the challenge if they had to. And I would be sure we lost, and be sure I got voted off...

Or maybe I would die if I was lucky...

I threw my pillow over my face, a single, muffled sob the only sound I made as I felt more tears begin to form.

---

I sighed angrily as I approached the cabin. This was getting ridiculous.

Why couldn't this guy just GET OVER IT? I didn't love him; Hell, I barely liked him at all. Why did he bother doing this? Did he think I was going to feel sorry for him?

Desperate little perv... That's all he was; I'd seen his type before.

I opened the door, seeing a pathetic Cody crying into his pillow on his bed. I rolled my eyes. I know, it seemed harsh, but I was certain those were crocodile tears; he was just trying to get me to feel bad.

Been there, done that.

But then I eyed something on the ground.

A small, balled up piece of paper. There were actually dozens.

Curious to see if they were anything of interest, I picked up one and un-crumpled it, straightening it out.

I gasped.

One of the most amazing drawings I had ever seen was on the paper; Cody and I were sitting on a hilltop on a clear, starry night. Cody has one arm around me, another pointing towards a shooting star. An excited look was on his smiling face as he did. I was simply leaning against him, my eyes closed with a hand to my grinning mouth. It made me look like I was laughing…

I blinked a few times. This looked like it had taken days to make… All the shades of color, the sheer amount of detail, the realism… Well, aside from the couple…

When I was able to think again, I picked up another ball of paper.

This one had us simply embracing each other with serene looks on our faces, our hair being blown by a strong wind. We were directly in front of a huge, full moon, making us glow with a radiance I had never seen brought to life on paper before.

"Did they send you…?" A voice made me jump as I looked over to see that Cody had gotten up and had seen me; I was too astonished by the drawings to realize he had stopped crying.

"Uh…" I dropped the picture to the ground. "Um… Yeah, they did…" I finally said. He sighed.

"Whatever…" He didn't stand; I knew getting him to the challenge would be tough…

But I never thought that it'd be because I wanted to talk with him.

"Cody… You never told me…" I picked up the two drawings I had seen, looking at the other paper balls littering the floor. "Are all of these…"

"Yeah…" He nodded, not looking at me. "I know, they're stupid,"

"No, no…" I was looking at Cody in a much different way than before… I walked closer to him. "These are… Well…" I had trouble finding words. "…Unbelievable… How long did these take?"

"Eh, a couple hours each," He answered. I blinked, looking at the pictures again.

It would've taken me at least a day to do something like this.

"Cody… That's…" I shook my head slowly. "…Why didn't you ever tell me you could draw like this?"

"Well, I know you like art and all… I didn't want you to think I was just doing it because you do it,"

I found myself sitting down next to him.

"Is this all you've been doing these past few days…?" I asked, holding up the picture of us on the hill. He nodded.

"Yeah… I don't know why though…" He sighed. "I guess I just think if I keep drawing it, it will really happen…"

He actually chuckled.

"Yeah right…"

I had never seen this side of Cody before; normally he was smothering me with all sorts of lame moves (That he usually failed miserably at) to try to "woo me"… But this… This quiet artist…

Was this really Cody?

…Was the other side of him just a facade…?

I don't know why I continued to sit here; if I didn't get him back, we'd be in big trouble..

But I continued to sit next to this strange new Cody, not saying a word.

"Look, Gwen…" He sighed. "As long as we're in here…" He sighed again. "I just want to… Apologize for how I've been treating you…" He said quietly. "I've been treating you so disrespectfully since I got here and… Look, that's not really me, okay?" He paused, looking at me as if he was waiting for me to interrupt.

When I didn't, he continued.

"I know I act like I think I'm some sort of crazed pervert… But honestly, that's not me…"

I saw water slowly build up in his eyes.

"Gwen, I love you… I honestly, truly love you…" He paused, looking up at the ceiling, as if he was trying to hold back his tears. "But I know you don't feel the same, and I understand… I know you really like Trent, but… I… I just wanted to let you know…" He turned, trying to hide his crying.

I couldn't find words; my mouth was dy. This sudden change in Cody's attitude was hard for me to take in. Part of me thought it was a trick…

I saw tears slide off his face.

This was no act.

"Gwen… Cody… Where arrrrrreeee yoooouuu…?" Chris's voice came on the loudspeaker again. Cody stood.

"Look… Let's just go, alright? I know you're getting sick of hearing me go on…

"…No…"

He turned when I finally spoke.

"What?"

"…No… No, I'm not sick of it…" I said, standing. I walked up to him, staring into his teal eyes for a moment in silence.

His eyes reflected off everything he had just said; I saw a sensitive, caring soul behind those eyes…

"G-Gwen…?" He asked nervously. "What…What are you doing…?" He asked as I got even closer.

I don't even know what I was thinking at this time, but for a single second, the truth flowed into my mind.

I had seen Trent looking at other girls before… While it's not like we were together, or that he ever spoke to them as much, it still bugged me…

But Cody…

He really did only have eyes for me…

Maybe I had gone mad for a second; maybe I had somehow been drugged. Maybe that's what finally made me realize what I was feeling…

"Gwen…?"

…That maybe I didn't love Trent…

"…Gwen, are you alright…?"

Maybe I loved someone else…

"Gwen, please answ-MMPH!!"

He was muffled when I pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. I felt his small muscles tighten for a moment, his body freezing up. But slowly, he relaxed. I simply held my lips against his, my arms now around him. I didn't care if cameras were watching; I didn't care if we got in trouble for being late.

None of that mattered right now, because I had finally realized truth.

I pulled away from him for a moment, a soft smile on my face.

Even if I wasn't sure whether or not I really meant it at the time, saying it felt right.

"Cody…" I said warmly. "I love you too…"

I pulled him back into another warm loving kiss.

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Eh, maybe not one of my better works, but it was thought of in about 10 minutes. Please leave me your comments!


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